Learning Styles and Learning Theories

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Building on from the learning styles and theories I have covered, it is clear to see that although they target multiple learning groups; they fail to underpin any techniques, skills and strategies to become an effective learner.
“Many students can perform and obtain good results, but that itself may be insufficient to make them effective learners. Often the distinction between performance and learning is blurred and many students have difficulty reflecting on how they can learn to become better learners” (Gavin Reed & Shannon Green 2009). As you can see from this quote; within a school environment the focus is results orientated, which is deceptive given children cannot build up their learning techniques without reflection.

Reflection is key to becoming an effective learner, to reflect on what has been learned and from this reflective period, plan for positive change. Developing reflective learning improves critical thinking, analytical skills and self-awareness. As a learner there are simple skills that will strengthen, build and improve a reflective style.

One technique involves becoming more observational, especially in social scenarios that do not directly involve you. Focus your attention towards people’s characteristics and behaviour during conversation. This technique can be built upon with logging or capturing moments throughout the day, providing a structure to reflect and review; gaining further insights into learning. There are various forms used to capture moments throughout the day the most common being diaries; “… diaries were a useful tool for transformation reflection, providing them with opportunities to […] express their learning style in a personal way…” (John Biggs and Catherine Tang 2011)

As with most...

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